Minaret (or Minar)

Minaret (Or Minar)

is the name of a tall turret used in Saracenic architecture. The minaret, as it is called by the Turks, contains a staircase, and is divided into several stories, with balconies from which the priests summon the Mohammedans to prayer bells not being permitted in their religion, see MOHAMAMEDANISM, and is terminated with a spire or ornamental finial. The minarets are among the most beautiful features of Mohammedan architecture, and are an invariable accompaniment of the mosques (q.v.). In India, minars, or pillars of victory, are frequently erected in connection with mosques; some of these are lofty and splendid monuments, that of Kutub, at Old Delhi, being 48 feet 4 inches in diameter at the base, and about 250 feet high. They are often built on a plan of a star-like form, and ire divided into stories by projecting balconies, like the minarets.